Video

Nov 26, 2016 | 01:33

Cuban-Americans in U.S. Congress hail Castro's death

U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, of Florida, says the death of former long-time Cuban leader Fidel Castro closes ''one chapter of this nightmare,'' during a news conference with fellow Cuban-American members of Congress. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).

TRANSCRIPT +

ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION).
Several Cuban-American members of Congress on Saturday hailed the death of former long-time Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
At a news briefing in Miami, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida said Castro's death closes "one chapter of this nightmare," but warned that his passing is not likely to herald any abrupt political changes in Cuba.
"We are receiving reports that pro-democracy advocates...who oppose the regime are being rounded up and thrown in jail...one last measure that symbolizes Fidel's legacy as a brutal tyrant," she said.
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart accused the Castro regime of murdering over 100,000 Cubans "one way or another", as well as torturing and killing Americans, without giving any details.
He denounced the proposed easing of the U.S. trade embargo following a rapprochement by U.S. President Barack Obama, calling Obama the "largest financier" of the Cuban government. But he said Cuban-American exiles, as well as those still living on the island, are looking to incoming-President Donald Trump to reverse those changes.
"We have a new administration coming in...who have stated very clearly that they are going to enforce the law. They're going to be helping the opposition. They're going to be demanding real changes, real freedoms, in Cuba," he told reporters.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Trump said that his administration would "do all it can" once it takes office to help boost freedom and prosperity for the Cuban people after the death of Fidel Castro.

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